The new National Energy Independence Strategy has been confirmed recently in Lithuania. With that strategy Lithuania can be mentioned among the states, leading in energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
For Lithuania, which has almost no own fossil fuels, import of natural gas and oil mainly from Russia was always not only an energy issue, but also a question of national security. For example, oil import by pipeline “Druzhba” (“Friendship” J) was stopped, when Lithuania denied a proposition to sell oil processing plant to Russian “Lukoil”. Lithuania had to start deliveries of row oil using the meaning of oil terminal, what solved the problem in general, but increased the costs of the oil logistics to the refinery.
Trying to avoid the same situation with supply of natural gas, Lithuania has invested and built a LNG terminal in its sea-port Klaipeda. Together with the process of switching from gas to biomass in District Heating, it decreased a risk of supply in this sector.
The new National Energy Independence Strategy continues to focus on that issue of energy security. The synchronization of Lithuanian electricity grid with electricity lines of continental Europe is forecasted until 2025. This does not mean a physical connection only (Lithuania already has direct links to Sweden and Poland, and to Finland via Estonia), but also a management of frequency in electricity system, which is now is done by Moscow.
The next most important thing is, that Lithuania declares its unstoppable development of renewable energy. Lithuania already is among the leaders of fulfilling the “2020 goals”, set by Renewable energy directive. 23% of all the energy consumption should come from RES in 2020, but in 2016 Lithuania already achieved and overcame the target, reaching 25.77%. The new Strategy sets the goal of 80 % of renewable energy in all energy consumption by 2050, but among them – 100% renewable heat in DH sector, 100% renewable electricity, but still 50% renewable transport. This illustrates, that renewable transportation is a major challenge for the world, and Lithuania as well.
WBA declared many times, that Paris agreement on stooping the climate change requires to stop use of any fossil fuel by 2050. To achieve that target we need the development of all the renewable energy sources, and biomass can and will play a crucial role. In Lithuania and other countries with vast biomass resources.